The Kite Runner

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Kite Runner Movie DVD -	The Kite Runner Review


I'm not much of a movie goer but having read the book, I really wanted to see how much was left out in the movie and how much difference there was between my interpretation and the movie people's. It was a great movie; it held the attention, was fairly true to the book, and handled the subject with great sensitivity. Whether you are interested in geography, history, culture, human relations, or just want a good cry, this is the movie for you.

Deflated Adaptation -	The Kite Runner Review


I want to start this review off by saying that I loved the novel that this film was based on so going into it, I expected it to disappoint me in some areas, as books are usually better than their film counterparts. What I didn't expect was for its pervasive drama and tension to be depreciated by an extremely compressed reworking of the story and lackluster performances from its actors, a result of faulty casting and poor direction on the part of Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace). "The Kite Runner", adapted from author Khaled Hosseini's critically acclaimed novel, is a disservice to his powerful story in that it lacks the proper quantity of elements needed for a great drama. The film begins with the travails of two Afghan boys from opposite sides of the tracks, Amir Qadiri a well-to-do Pashtun and his best friend Hassan a Hazara that is a servant in his household. Both boys are avid kite fighters, a revered sport in Afghanistan that bestows great honor upon the boy whose kite outlasts all the others. Despite their closeness, Amir harbors a mysterious disdain for Hassan, simultaneously admiring and loathing his honesty and loyalty. He also harbors a silent resentment for his father's close relationship with him, withered and bitter from criticism over his propensity for reading and writing over sport. When he is the victor of a kite fighting championship one fateful day, he allows that resentment to prevent him from intervening on an unspeakable assault on Hassan by Assef, the district's resident bully. Thereafter unable to look him in the eye, Amir's cowardice allows him to accuse Hassan of a crime he did not commit in order to expel him from his home. Though Amir's father forgives Hassan for his trespasses (despite lecturing Amir on what a despicable crime theft is), Ali (Hassan's father) elects to pack their bags and leave, knowing full well the truth of events. From there, Amir and his father are forced to evacuate from Afghanistan when the Soviets invade the country, father and son making their way to American soil for a new life. Graduating from college and publishing his first novel, Amir (Abdalla) begins living the life he always dreamed of but his past still haunts him and one lone day a phone call from Ramir Khan (Toub) opens the door to redemption. Much is lost of Hosseini's masterful tale from the film's cut-and-dry editing, Forster's desperation to fit 400 pages of a novel into 127 minutes of film effectively killing some of the story's greater moments as well as its overall impact. Certain characters are excluded and there is a definitive lack of character development, a fault of David Benioff's elegant screenplay (he pulled direct quotes from the book quite often). These are likely the result of time constraints and abridgment of Hosseini's in-depth storyline, a flaw that ends up providing a conclusion that is slightly contrary to the book's ending (which was extremely bittersweet). Forster barely coaxed any noteworthy performances from his actors, resulting in some of the most rigid and forgettable acting I've ever seen. As the film's lead, Khalid Abdalla is responsible for carrying much of the film; he seems to have gone to the Keanu Reeves school of acting, his utterly flat delivery annulling much of the story's passion and intensity. The child actors are abysmal - most of them appear to be just reciting their lines without even thinking about what they mean. Particularly disappointing is the boy who plays Assef, a character who was a much more frightening creature in the novel than portrayed onscreen, a textbook example of a sociopath. This film barely fleshes out his potent antagonism and it's incredibly disappointing. The only exception is Shaun Toub as Ramir Khan, a close friend of the family who seems to have a better understanding of Amir than anyone else. "The Kite Runner" also contains unnecessary and excessive subtitling, half the film spoken in three different dialects (Urdu, Dari, Pashtu). These scenes could easily have been done in English and lost none of their impact and better actors might've been recruited as a result. One thing that can be appreciated about this film is its exquisite cinematography, principal photographer Roberto Schaefer's sweeping vistas of Afghanistan made possible by the beauteous Pamir Mountains of China, as well as select Chinese cities (Tashgarkan, Beijing, Xinjiang). Bottom line: Anyone who says that this movie was a good adaptation hasn't really read Hosseini's novel. Though it's been made obvious by this review, I would not recommend this film over the book, a film that falls far short of the rich experience of reading Hosseini's gripping narrative.

good movie -	The Kite Runner Review


very good, a little different near the end but does not change the story

worth watching -	The Kite Runner Review


Not quite as good as the book but worth seeing-I would recommend reading the book first!

One of the best movies I have seen in the past year -	The Kite Runner Review


Powerful - beautifully done. A great movie. The acting is wonderful. The cinematography is superb. A great DVD to own. Michael Mindel

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The Kite Runner

							January 8, 2009


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